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A round-up of the Pentangular Cup matches that took place on January 26

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2012Shahzaib Hasan and Faisal Iqbal scored centuries to give Sind a huge lead against Baluchistan on the second day at the National Stadium in Karachi. Resuming on 127 for 1, with Hasan on 66, Sind were dismissed for 487, leading by 323 runs. Hasan scored 119 off 129 deliveries, while Faisal’s century was more rapid – 112 off 134 deliveries. There were useful contributions from Fahad Iqbal (68) and Mohammad Sami (48) as well. Fast bowler Rahat Ali took 5 for 106 for Baluchistan but was unable to prevent Sind from taking firm control of the Pentangular Cup game.Punjab dismissed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province for 210 and then reached 95 for 1 on the first day of their Pentangular Cup match at the at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Raza Hasan took 5 for 80 after Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chose to bat, and he was supported by Asif Raza, who took 3 for 29. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were in fact in danger of not reaching 200, but the No. 9 Khalid Usman scored 59 off 48 balls to lift them from 144 for 7. No other batsman made more than 50 in the innings. Punjab lost Nasir Jamshed for 8 in their reply but Ahmed Shehzad and Shoaib Malik steered them through to stumps without further loss. Shehzad scored 57 off 77 balls in Punjab’s 95.

A round-up of the fourth match-day of the Quadrangular Under-19 series in India

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2011India Under-19s continued to dominate in the youth quadrangular series in Visakhapatnam, registering a comprehensive six-wicket win against Australia Under-19s.Batting first, Australia was in trouble straightaway, losing their top three for only three runs to Sandeep Sharma. Ashton Turner and captain Kurtis Patterson essayed a brief recovery, but once offspinner Baba Aparajith broke the stand, none of the lower middle could get going as Australia folded for 173 in 48.5 overs. In reply, India were solid, knocking off the runs with 17.4 overs to spare. The chase was built around a number of 30 and 40 something cameos from the top order – Aparajith top scored with an unbeaten 48. This is India’s fourth win in four games in the series.A team performance helped Sri Lanka Under 19s to a two-wicket win against West Indies Under-19s.Choosing to bat, West Indies slumped to 94 for 5 in 28 overs, before a 152-run stand for the sixth wicket between Kavem Hodge and Justin Greaves carried them to a competitive total. Fast bowler Lahiru Madushanka and left-arm spinner Amila Aponso were the pick of the bowlers, claiming five wickets between them, as West Indies put on 258 for 8 in their 50. Sri Lanka’s top and middle order all contributed in the chase, with each of the top seven scoring between 22 and 47. While West Indies kept pecking away at the wickets, the cameos were enough to carry Sri Lanka home with nine balls in hand. This is Sri Lanka’s third win in four games, while West Indies are yet to register a win in the tournament.

The former Australia batter has previously been the head coach for Bangladesh and West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2024Former Australia batter Stuart Law has been appointed as the new head coach of the USA men’s team. His first assignment in charge will be the three-match T20I series at home against Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup in June, for which the USA are co-hosts along with West Indies.”It is an exciting opportunity to join USA cricket at this time. USA is one of the strongest Associate nations in the sport, and I believe that we can mold a formidable squad going ahead,” Law said. “The first task will be to prepare the team for the series against Bangladesh and then set our sights on our home World Cup, which will be huge.””Stuart is one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport. He brings a lot of experience to USA Cricket with his varied assignments, particularly in developing international sides over the years,” USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike said. “His appointment will only help the team grow to their full potential. We are excited to have Stuart on board just before the World Cup and look forward to lots of successes together.”Law has previously been the head coach for Bangladesh and West Indies, and Sri Lanka and Afghanistan on an interim basis in the past. He has also coached Bangladesh Under-19s. He had led Bangladesh to their first Asia Cup final in 2012.He also had a number of roles in Australia, including batting coach to the national team, a job with CA’s Centre of Excellence, and coaching the Under-19 team.USA will play the three matches against Bangladesh at Prairie View, where they recently beat Canada 4-0 in a T20I series.

He joins the team as a strategic consultant ahead of IPL 2021

Matt Roller01-Feb-2021Kolkata Knight Riders have hired England’s white-ball analyst Nathan Leamon as a strategic consultant ahead of IPL 2021.Leamon, who has been involved with the England team since 2009, has worked closely with Eoin Morgan – the Knight Riders captain – in recent years. He will be involved with the franchise’s auction planning, and will work alongside AR Srikkanth, their current performance analyst, during the season.It is understood that Leamon will take a leave of absence from the ECB during the tournament itself, after they recognised the value in him spending two months at the IPL working alongside Morgan ahead of the T20 World Cup in India later this year.Related

• Eoin Morgan: 'Nothing untoward' about coded signals from dressing-room

• 'Analysis is easy. The trick is turning it into info players can use'

The Knight Riders finished mid-table at fifth in IPL 2020, which was played in the UAE, with seven wins and equal number losses, closely losing out on a playoff spot. It was also the first time the franchise had been coached by the former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, a close friend of Morgan, who was appointed captain by the Knight Riders midway into the 2020 season after Dinesh Karthik stepped down abruptly.Morgan found himself defending Leamon in December after England trialled a system of coded signals from the dressing room to the pitch during their T20I series in South Africa, which suggested a choice of bowler and a possible field through a letter and a number. Morgan said there was “nothing untoward” about the trial and said it was “100% within the spirit of the game”.Leamon’s previous experience working in franchise cricket includes his time with Multan Sultans in last year’s Pakistan Super League, but a clash between the tournament and the white-ball leg of England’s tour to India means he will not return to that role this year.The IPL auction will be held on February 18. The Knight Riders have eight slots available, including two for overseas players after releasing Tom Banton and Chris Green from their 2021 squad. They have the joint-smallest purse remaining alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad, at INR 10.75 crore (USD 1.47 million approx).

Board confident that Bay Oval individual has been identified after inquiry

George Dobell in Hamilton03-Dec-2019New Zealand Cricket has lodged a complaint with Tauranga police over the racial abuse directed at Jofra Archer near the end of the first Test against England at Bay Oval.Information gathered from an inquiry which included studying CCTV footage, listening to audio, interviewing bystanders and obtaining material on social media has been incorporated into the complaint. As ESPNcricinfo reported at the time, the alleged culprit contacted Archer on Instagram in the hours after the incident.While NZC describe the information-gathering exercise as “useful” and are confident they have been able to identify the culprit, they lack the authority to conclusively and publically identify the person responsible and therefore feel “unable to comment on public speculation regarding his personal details”.Despite this, NZC chief executive David White said he believed there was enough material to justify lodging a complaint with the police especially, a press release stated, “if the Bay Oval perpetrator was to reoffend”.”What happened to Jofra was reprehensible and has led to a general upscaling of security around the area of racial abuse at all our international venues,” he said.”Should the person responsible ever reoffend, we believe we have enough information to link him to the Bay Oval incident.”White confirmed that, if a conclusive identification was forthcoming, NZC would seek to ban the offender from all its international venues “for a lengthy period”.

The CL T20 rolls on to its third venue, Durban, where two teams that won their first games in Group A will play the opening match of Wednesday’s double-header

The Preview by George Binoy16-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 17, 2012
Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)Azhar Mahmood has been exceptional with bat and ball for Auckland•Associated Press

Big picture

The Champions League T20 rolls on to its fourth venue, Kingsmead in Durban, where two teams that won their first games in Group A will play the opening match of Wednesday’s double-header. Titans beat the Big Bash League runners-up, Perth Scorchers, while Auckland Aces handed IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders their second defeat. Both victories were comprehensive. The winner of this contest will move to the top of their group.Auckland already have the scalps of three domestic T20 champions – from Pakistan, England and India. They’ll be gunning for South Africa’s.There’s been a pattern to Auckland’s victories – two in the qualifying round and one in the main draw. They bowl first, restrict the opposition to a middling total, and their top order mows it down. The most they’ve conceded is 137, the most wickets they’ve lost during a chase is four, and the longest they’ve taken to complete a chase is 17.4 overs.While all of Auckland’s bowlers have contributed either in terms of economy or wickets, Kyle Mills and Azhar Mahmood have stood out, exploiting the seam and bounce that was on offer in Johannesburg and Cape Town. If conditions are similar in Durban, they will enjoy it. Auckland’s top order – Lou Vincent, Martin Guptill and Mahmood – have got most of the job done in the three games so far, and the middle has been needed only to polish off a chase. Their performances have made the competition sit up and take notice.Titans openers, Jacques Rudolph and Henry Davids, did most of the run-making against Scorchers, scoring half-centuries before a poor finish gave them a total less imposing than what seemed probable. Their bowling, however, was most impressive, containing and cutting through an experienced and power-packed batting line-up. In Alfonso Thomas and Roelof van de Merwe, they have two seasoned T20 professionals, while fast bowler CJ de Villiers gives the attack bite. If they can get through the Auckland top order, that could be half the battle.

Watch out for…

CJ de Villiers was impressive during the first Champions League T20 in 2009, taking six wickets at 12.16 apiece with an economy rate of 6.63 on run-filled pitches in India. He was playing for Eagles then. Now with Titans, de Villiers began the 2012 tournament by taking 3 for 16 in four overs against Scorchers. His wickets came off consecutive deliveries in his first over and were of Shaun Marsh and Marcus North. A tall quick who bowls with high bounce at brisk pace, de Villiers might have had an international cap by now had South Africa’s national team not been awash with bowlers of his kind.Auckland’s top three batsmen have fired in all their games so far so Anaru Kitchen, who bats at No. 4, has only been required to finish off a chase that was already going well. He scored 33 against Sialkot Stallions and 24 against Kolkata and showed a penchant for aggression in those innings. Kitchen is yet to be tested with more responsibility in this tournament and he could be faced with such a situation if Titans get through Auckland’s top order early.

Pitch and conditions

The weather, unfortunately, could spoil this contest. It’s been raining in Durban in the lead-up to this game and more of forecast for Wednesday. Should there be a dry window, however, the pitch could be spicy.

Quotes

“It does swing and seam around a bit in New Zealand as it does here in South Africa and that made the acclimatising easier for us. I’m getting the team off to a good start but hope to do better in the coming games by playing right through the innings.”
“I think this year the competition is much more even. And it is going to be tough getting through to the play-offs; we had a good start in the first game so we hope to get the momentum and finish off well.”

Joe Root, the Yorkshire batsman, and Lancashire left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan have been called into the England Lions squad to face Sri Lanka A

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2011Joe Root, the Yorkshire batsman, and Lancashire left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan have been called into the England Lions squad to face Sri Lanka A in the one-day series which starts on Friday.Root, who made 66 in the four-day fixture against the same opposition, replaces Ravi Bopara after his inclusion in the full England side to face India at Edgbaston. Kerrigan, meanwhile, takes the place of Danny Briggs, the Hampshire spinner, who has picked up a shoulder injury.Briggs took 5 for 19 in Hampshire’s Friends Life t20 victory against Durham on Saturday which secured them a spot on finals day. Kerrigan has played six of Lancashire’s t20 matches and two County Championship games along with eight CB40 outings.The three-match one-day series begins at New Road on August 12 before the second match at the same venue two days later then a final game on August 16 at Wantage Road.

New Zealand Cricket has renewed assistant coach Trent Woodhill’s contract until 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2011New Zealand Cricket has renewed assistant coach Trent Woodhill’s contract until 2012. Woodhill first joined the team for the tri-series in Sri Lanka in August 2010.John Buchanan, New Zealand’s new director of cricket, said in a statement that was he was delighted to have retained the services of Woodhill, in support of coach John Wright. “Trent has forged a strong and successful relationship with John and indeed the entire Blackcaps unit. He has been recognised as a key influence behind the teams remarkable fielding performance at the World Cup. Having his specialist skills to support the Blackcaps is a fantastic step forward for New Zealand Cricket.”Wright was also pleased with the reappointment of Woodhill, saying, “I look forward to working with Trent – he is an important part of our coaching set up.”Woodhill’s next assignment will be with the New Zealand A squad for winter training and the Emerging Players Tournament in Brisbane next month.

Chris Gayle wants to top his highest score of 317 in Tests

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Galle15-Nov-2010Chris Gayle, playing his first Test after being replaced as captain, harboured hopes of a maiden Test win for West Indies on Sri Lankan soil after scoring his third Test double-century on the opening day of the first Test at Galle on Monday.”It would be nice to get a Test win in Sri Lanka but it won’t be easy. You’ve got to get ten wicket- taking deliveries and move on to get another ten. We still have four more days to go we’ll have to continue and build on this,” said Gayle who scored 219 not out of West Indies’ total of 362 for 2.Sri Lanka beat the West Indies 3-0 in 2001, despite West Indies scoring over 400 runs twice in the series, something Gayle had clearly not forgotten. “Brian [Lara] scored over 600 runs in the series but we lost all three Test matches. At the same time we got about 400 runs here [Galle] in the first Test the last time I was here, but we still lost the Test match.”We still have that in mind so we are not taking anything for granted. It was a good day for us so we just have a try and get about 500 runs and get a good start.”Gayle also expressed his desire to set a new career best. “I’d love to get to that 317 that would be a milestone. The wicket’s still good to bat on and the spinners are getting a bit more bounce and turn. We’ll see tomorrow, if we can get past the first hour anything is possible.”The century was Gayle’s first in the subcontinent and he was thrilled to have finally managed the feat. “I was aware of that I had not scored a hundred against all three teams. I was keen to score a Test century against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India. Coming here I was definitely looking forward to that first break. When I got it I was very pleased and to be batting right to the end.”The last time I toured here I didn’t get any runs. I didn’t get a half century in the Test and I struggled. When I got an opportunity like this it was very happy and thrilling for me to actually get past the milestone.”Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss heaped praise on Gayle but was critical of the way Sri Lanka bowled in the first session. “He’s obviously a class player and a strong hitter and a devastating batsman when he gets going. Today was his day. We beat the bat a few times especially earlier with a couple of top-edges, and on another day if something goes to the hand you are away.”My point of view is I was disappointed with the way we went about things in the first session, which put us behind the eight ball. We gave a guy like that a bit of a start where he would go from strength to strength.”I thought the six or seven overs we bowled quite well to the lines and lengths that we wanted to. We got away from that after that first six or seven overs. It was a wicket that if you were slightly short or off line or full, with a fast outfield it was four runs.”Bayliss said that with Angelo Mathews unable to bowl because of a leg strain, Sri Lanka struggled with four bowlers on a placid pitch. “When we first played here we had four bowlers as well. If we go with five bowlers and five batters, and if we didn’t have enough runs on the board, everyone will start saying why you went with five batters only. It’s something that without Angi [Mathews] being able to bowl puts us at a disadvantage.”

The IPL is set to unveil its two new franchises in Chennai on Sunday, with at least five bidders competing for the slots

Cricinfo staff20-Mar-2010The IPL is set to unveil its two new franchises in Chennai on Sunday, with five bidders reported to be competing for the slots. The process was to have been completed on March 7 but was postponed by two weeks after the bidders and the BCCI objected to stiff financial clauses.The cities in the fray are Pune, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamsala, Vizag, Rajkot, Cuttack, Baroda, Kochi, Indore and Gwalior. Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said on his Twitter feed that there were five bidders and media reports have suggested they include some of the biggest business houses in the country – Videocon, Adani, the Sahara group (which sponsors the Indian team), the Jaypee group and Pune-based builder Anirudh Deshpande. Bollywood actors Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty are also believed to have bought tenders.The problem arose in Mumbai when the bidders wanted a clause requiring the bidder to have a net worth of $1 billion, removed. The IPL agreed to remove it and delayed the announcement. The new process will also amend two existing clauses: One will be a reduction of the advance deposit from $100 million to a $10 million “performance guarantee”, to be submitted 24 hours in advance of the bid being opened. Another original clause gave the IPL’s governing council the discretion to seek from the winning bidder 100% of the amount with a minimum time-frame; under the new process, the winning bids will be expected to pay 10% of their bid within 48 hours. The minimum bid amount, however, remains the same at $225 million.From next year, the IPL will feature ten teams and – if the current format is retained – a total of 94 games, from the existing 60. After the first season in 2008, the league has already expanded its reach to other centres such as Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Dharamsala.